The Summer Before the War
by Dancing-StarryEyedDemigod
Summary: Remember those terrifying situations that made Percy want to escape to the mortal world? Well get ready for one, or two, or three of these situations. Takes place between the fourth and fifth books. Percabeth, Silendorf.
1. The bus battle

This is the product of me being up at 4:00 AM and being sick: A brand new chapter fic that isn't an AU. :D

ENJOY!!

Oh, and please, if there is a space missing or if a word is missing the letter O, please ignore the mistake. The keyboard on my laptop sucks, and the spacebar and O key fail. I'm too *insert emotion you feel when you're sick* to even care about going back and seeing if I need to fix it :P

* * *

"Annabeth, hold still!" I shouted as I carried her up the stairs and onto the bus.

"I _am_, Seaweed Brain! Stop telling me what to do!"

I set her down on a bus seat and she sat up, shaking her leg.

"It's getting worse!" I told her. "Just _stop moving_!"

Annabeth glared at me, then gasped. She quickly grabbed my hand, wincing in pain, and I waved over Will solace from the Apollo cabin. I turned back to Annabeth and put my hand on top of hers. Her face was pale and her eyes were shut tight.

"It's gonna be okay," I muttered to her as Will approached us from the back of the bus.

"What happened?" He asked, looking at the cut on Annabeth's leg.

"Dragon got her when she wasn't looking," I replied, narrowing my eyes. "The next time Kronos wants to sick a dragon on us, could you make sure we're ready?"

Will smiled and rolled his eyes at me. As he turned to examine Annabeth's wound, I felt like I could have decked him in the mouth. I guess he'd gotten used to my attitude, just like everyone else. The war was really getting to me.

Will said something to Annabeth and she nodded, covering her closed eyes with my hand. Will reached into the seat in front of us and pulled some scissors out of a first aid kit. Annabeth's whole body tensed as Will lifted her leg and, starting at the rip from the dragon claw, snipped off one leg of Annabeth's jeans. The cut ran from the middle of her thigh to just under her knee, and it was bleeding like crazy. The skin around it was turning green.

"Poison," Will said. I closed my eyes and exhaled. Could this day get any worse?

Will removed some bandages and nectar from the first aid kit.

"Hold still," he said to Annabeth. As he poured some nectar on her leg wound, she squeezed my hand tighter, and I tried not to cry out. She had a mean grip, and she was hurt, but she didn't move a muscle.

"Of course, she stays still for you," I muttered under my breath. Annabeth scoffed and tightened her grip on my hand. I looked down at her, ready to say something, but I stopped short. I could tell Annabeth was trying really hard to be strong, but she was in a huge amount of pain. A tear slid down her cheek and she bit her lip. Will started bandaging up her leg and Annabeth took a deep breath, holding back a sob. I gripped her hand tighter and brought it to my lips.

"You're doing great, Wise Girl," I whispered against her knuckles. "He's almost done."

Annabeth smiled, and it felt like the greatest sight in the world. I couldn't help but smile back. Will finished her leg, tied off the bandage, and sat back to admire his handiwork. I flipped Annabeth's hand over and placed a square of ambrosia in her palm. She brought it to her mouth slowly and took a bite, her eyes still closed. I watched her as she finished off the medicine. After a few minutes, her breathing slowed and steadied, and she was asleep. Will looked over at me, stood up and smacked me upside the head.

"Ow!" I whispered. "What was that for?"

"You were grinning like an idiot," was his quiet reply.

"...Oh," I said, embarrassed. I ran my hand through my hair. "Thanks, man."

Will smirked. "Anytime, Perce," he said. He walked back to the other 2 Apollo campers that were with us.

As I sat on the bus floor next to the sleeping Annabeth, I thought about our mission.

15 campers. 1 monster camp. The task was simple: destroy Kronos' minions. So what went wrong? We'd followed Annabeth's and Michael Yew's plan almost perfectly. So why were there 3 wounded campers?

The sun was setting on another day of the summer from Hades. Kronos was getting stronger everyday, and we were running out of time. A war was going to start any day now, and we were still trying to cut down Kronos' forces.

And, go figure, it wasn't working.

It was July 3rd. We had a little over a month before my 16th birthday/the end of the world. Beckendorf, a Hephaestus camper, was busy up at the front of the bus as he tried to re-wire the circuits to get us home. will solace had joined 2 of his siblings in the back of the bus and were now going over the supplies we had left. I looked outside the window at the other 9 campers, cleaning up and collecting their respective spoils of battle. I saw Silena Beauregard, a daughter of Aphrodite, pick up a dragon skin and frown at it. I sighed in frustration as she began to carry the skin to the bus. I pushed off the ground and jogged past Beckendorf and down the stairs to meet her. I hopped off the bus and onto the dirt as she stopped in front of me, holding out the dragon skin.

"This is yours," she said, a concerned look on her pretty features.

"I don't want it," I replied, balling my fists and looking away.

Silena raised a plucked eyebrow.

"Why not?" She asked gently. "You killed it. It's yours."

"Yeah, well you should see what it did to Annabeth's leg."

Silena smiled knowingly like she understood something I didn't.

"Oh, so _that's _why you don't want it," she cooed.

"What?"

Silena laughed and tossed the dragon skin at me.

"Get some rest, Percy," she said as she walked away, flipping her black hair over her shoulder. I got back on the bus, where the Apollos were doing just what Silena had suggested and laying down in the back seats. I sat down next to Beckendorf and dropped the dragon skin under the seat. As I watched Beckendorf work on the bus, the rest of the campers gradually got on board and got situated to sleep. The sun had completely set when Beckendorf finished the bus' controls. He turned the key in the ignition and the bus sprang to life, waking up a grumpy son of Ares and the tired Katie Gardener, daughter of Demeter. Beckendorf grinned.

"Engine still works," he said, satisfied. I nodded. He and I were the only two still awake. He didn't look tired at all, but I could feel my eyelids closing.

"You should go to sleep," Beckendorf told me as he got settled in the driver's seat.

"What about you?" I asked, looking out the window.

"I've stayed up for long periods of time before," he replied. "And we have to get home."

"You have a point there," I said. Beckendorf looked over his shoulder and grinned.

"There's an open seat across the aisle from Annabeth," he told me. He gestured towards the back of the bus and I turned. Annabeth's feet were hanging off the edge of her seat and her head was resting on the window. I turned back to Beckendorf to ask him what he meant, but he was looking out the windshield, and I knew our conversation was over. I sighed and made my way to the empty seat.

I swung myself into the seat and rested my forehead on the window. It was extremely warm for nighttime, and the bus either didn't have air conditioning or it wasn't on. As Beckendorf put the bus in drive and pulled out of the ditch it'd been in, I peeled off my ripped, burnt, green t-shirt.

I hadn't realized how tired I was. My eyes closed almost instantly.

For the first time in a long time, I didn't dream. Of course, that was probably because I fell asleep and woke up and it felt like I'd just blinked.

I knew that a good amount of time had passed only because Annabeth was asleep on my chest/shoulder. I didn't know how or when she got there, but she looked so peaceful. I couldn't wake her up. I glanced over my shoulder out the window. We were on some highway. I strained to look at the driver's seat. Beckendorf wasn't driving anymore. He was passed out in the seat behind the driver's, snoring quietly. Silena Beauregard was behind the wheel. I decided not to question it and tried to go back to sleep.

Annabeth shifted and I froze, my eyes glued to the seat in front of me. She didn't make a sound and she didn't move, so I assumed she was still asleep. I looked to my left and found myself nose-to-nose with a very awake Annabeth, who blushed and turned away quickly. I smiled.

"I, um..." she began. "My... my leg was feeling better, and you looked cold, so-"

I laughed quietly and wrapped one of my arms around Annabeth so I could shift my weight without her falling off the bus seat. I rested my back against the side of the bus and Annabeth leaned against me. She started to poke and pull at her bandage. I placed my hand on top of hers.

"Don't touch it, Wise Girl" I said as I tried to stifle a yawn. Annabeth stuck her tongue out at me. I smiled and kissed her on the top of her head. She blushed and let her head fall back onto my chest.

I rested my head on the seat back and closed my eyes.

"Percy?" I heard Annabeth whisper.

"Yeah?" I replied.

"Thank you."

I opened my eyes. "For what?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. Annabeth looked up at me, and she seemed to glow in the moonlight.

"For killing that dragon for me."

I shrugged. "No problem," I said. "It's what friends are for."

Annabeth pursed her lips and looked away.

"Right. Friends." She said. I would have asked her about her sudden harsh tone had I not fallen asleep right then, tired and confused as Hades.

* * *

So, did you like it? Mind telling me if you did?


	2. Demigoddess Catfight

...Don't kill me. I haven't started that sequel, nor have I written much. I decided to do Script Frenzy, which is writing a 100 page script in the month of April.

But I've been trying to do some PJatO stuff!!

Um. Yeah. So, here's the second chapter. It's based off of a scenario that my best friend Morgan and I came up with... because I bought a Percy Jackson sword at Toys R Us and she was mocking me.

Enjoy :]

* * *

It was July 7th. It was cloudy. It was hot. It was a mission gone wrong.

It seemed like everything was going wrong lately.

We had no idea how to contact camp, much less get back to it. We were in an empty field, the five of us: Me, Annabeth, Beckendorf, Silena, and Will. Tall grass was up to our knees and swaying in the hot breeze.

We'd just battled some _empousai_. We'd been trying to find them, but we weren't ready when they attacked us.

All of us were tense and tired. The guys and I were just fine, I guess. But as for the girls... Well, Silena's legs were itchy, Annabeth kept getting bitten by random bugs, and they were both pretty ticked off.

"This is getting pretty stressful," Will said before taking a drink of nectar from his canteen.

"You can say that again," I agreed, wiping the sweat off my forehead with the back of my hand.

"This is getting pretty stressful," Beckendorf repeated, smiling to himself. The humidity and empty, desolate field didn't seem to bother him at all. In fact, he was in a great mood, poking fun at all of us. He grabbed Silena's hand (he'd asked her out a week ago).

"Hey, babe," he whispered loudly in her ear. "Your hair still looks great, even in this weather."

Silena beamed and patted down her hair.

"You really think so?" she cooed.

"A whole lot better than Annabeth's, that's for sure," he replied jokingly.

"You better take that back, you amphibious cow," Annabeth snapped, whirling around to face Beckendorf, holding up her knife threateningly. Beckendorf laughed nervously.

"I was just kidding, Annabeth," he said slowly. Annabeth scoffed/snarled and pocketed her knife. She untied the ribbon she'd been using to hold back her hair and shook her head as Beckendorf and Will exchanged a look. Silena rolled her eyes.

"He was just being a gentleman, Annabeth," she barked.

"Sure, to you. But you're used to flattery, aren't you? You're just _perfect _compared to me," was Annabeth's sarcastic reply.

"You better watch it, owl eyes," Silena snapped, narrowing her eyes. "Us Aphrodites don't fight fair."

"Oh, really? And what in Hades could you possibly do to me? Break my nail? Ruin my exhilarating outfit?"

"Keep going, you oversized dictionary. I dare you."

"Gladly. If you can't tell, I don't really care about makeup, nor do I care about designer clothes. So give it a shot, Silena."

"Okay. My pleasure."

Before any of us could move, Silena had whipped out her sword and was holding it up to Annabeth's neck. No one moved. The guys and I were frozen with shock. Annabeth was glaring. Silena challenged Annabeth with her eyes as she walked closer. She walked around her, keeping her sword in place, and with her other hand, grabbed a handful of Annabeth's blonde curls. In one swift motion, Silena took her sword and sliced off Annabeth's long hair right above where she'd been holding it. Annabeth's mouth dropped open in surprise and she stumbled backwards, bringing her hand up to her hair. Silena smirked and dropped the chunk of blonde. It disappeared into the grass. Annabeth slowly took out her knife.

"You. Did not. Just cut off my hair."

"I thought you didn't care about that stuff," Silena hissed.

"No, but you do." Annabeth lunged at Silena with her knife.

Fortunately, Annabeth wasn't trying to hurt Silena. She was just trying to ruin her shirt.

Unfortunately, she succeeded, cutting a long gash in Silena's pale pink top from one shoulder to the middle of her chest. And Silena, well, wasn't a happy camper.

"You're a harpy!" Silena shrieked, dropping her sword and clutching at her shirt. "A flat-out demon!"

Annabeth sneered. "And proud of it!" She shouted.

Silena's nostrils flared and she jumped at Annabeth. I made a move to hold her back, but Beckendorf stopped me. I looked back at him, and he was shaking his head at me. I raised an eyebrow.

"Dude," Will said. "It's a demigoddess catfight. When do you ever see one of those?"

I shrugged, but didn't say anything as I turned back to the two girls, who were hitting and punching and pulling hair and shouting curse words at each other. Annabeth wrapped Silena's hair around her hand and brought her knife to it. Silena froze.

"Keep fighting, love child," Annabeth snarled. "Keep fighting if _you_ want _your_ hair cut off."

"Please don't," Silena whimpered. "I'll stop. I'm sorry."

Annabeth paused, then let go of Silena's hair. Silena stumbled forward into Beckendorf and clutched at her hair. Annabeth's misshapen hair was tousled by a hot breeze as she walked over to me. Beckendorf, Silena, and Will started walking ahead of us. We followed.

"Wow," I said, still shocked, after a few moments. Annabeth rolled her eyes and raised her knife to her head.

"Whoa!" I shouted, lifting my hand to stop the knife's motion. "What in Hades are you doing!?"

Annabeth looked at me like I just ate a bug or suggested that we strip off our clothing and run around naked. We held each other's gaze for what seemed like a long time, and I was getting uncomfortable. Then she spoke.

"Seaweed Brain, you truly are a seaweed brain," she said. "I was going to cut the rest of my hair off so that I don't look like a deranged Pegasus."

"Oh," I said, feeling like an idiot as I let my hand drop. "Well, in that case, go ahead."

As we walked, Annabeth sliced off chunks of her hair and let it fall into the grass. She was extremely good at it, which was weird. It made me wonder how many other situations required Annabeth to cut off her own hair while walking. After a few seconds, her long, curly, princess mane was shoulder-length and choppily layered.

"That actually doesn't look too bad," I said. Annabeth shrugged.

"Eh, I don't really care," she said.

"But you told Silena you did."

"Yeah, I know what I said," she snapped in reply. "But it's whatever. I shouldn't have reacted. We're all hot, we're all tired. I just let it get the best of me."

I nodded in agreement and pushed through the grass. Annabeth followed suit. I could see the others, about 10 yards away, when Annabeth stumbled and fell into me. I caught her and helped her balance. She was holding her left leg and wincing in pain.

A few days ago, we'd destroyed an enemy camp, and the battle had come to be known as "the bus battle." Around 20-or-so of Kronos' minions were aboard, including a dragon that was to be used solely for demigod encounters. Well, that's exactly what it was used for: our attack. It got Annabeth first, and made a huge gash in her leg. She couldn't walk right for 2 days, and she was barely healthy enough to go on this quest.

But, according to Chiron, she was needed here. Apparently, the five of us were a 'great team.'

So, Annabeth pretended everything was fine so she could accompany us. And she _was_ fine. Before now. Now, she leaned on me as she stopped walking. She rubbed her knee and closed her eyes. The jeans she was wearing were pale, almost white. And the material over her gash was slowly turning red. Very slowly, blood was seeping through the fabric.

Crap.

"Guys!" I shouted to the others. They were well ahead of us now, but they still heard me. I looked at Annabeth and Silena came running. Beckendorf and will looked at each other, then followed.

Silena got to us first. She took one look at Annabeth's leg and gasped.

"It reopened!?" She asked, reaching down to touch Annabeth's bloody knee.

"Guess so," Beckendorf said with a grunt as he stopped next to Silena.

"Now we _really _have to get back to camp," Will said, which made me worry. He was our Apollo. He was supposed to heal her.

"What do you mean?" Silena asked, her voice shrill. "Can't you fix it here?"

Will shrugged. "I don't have much," he said. "Maybe some ambrosia."

"Just do something," I said, supporting Annabeth's weight on my hip. "She's gonna lose too much blood from this stupid cut unless you _do something_."

Will looked at me for a second before sliding his backpack off his shoulder and unzipping it.

"Here goes nothing," he said.

Will went through the same process he had before, cutting Annabeth's jeans, pouring some of his nectar on the cut, and bandaging it up. He cut off the other leg of Annabeth's jeans, turning them into shorts.

None of us said anything. We all looked at Annabeth, waiting for her to respond. She opened her eyes and looked up at us.

"...W-what?" she stammered, her voice hoarse. "I'm fine. W-why are you all ...staring at me?"

She was obviously not fine, but Will noticed her normal stubbornness nonetheless. He, Silena and Beckendorf began walking again. I wrapped my arm around Annabeth's waist and lifted her arm onto my shoulders.

"I can walk just fine, Percy," Annabeth snapped. I rolled my eyes and started walking slowly, helping her hop along.

"Whatever you say, Wise Girl," I said. Annabeth didn't respond. We followed the others. I don't know where we were walking to. We were just looking for something that could help us- just walking. We would have kept walking, too, had it not been for the Pegasi that appeared out of nowhere, hovering at least 30 feet above us.

Will looked up.

"Well, would you look at that," he said. "How convenient."

"Perfect timing," Beckendorf agreed sarcastically. Silena snorted.

"You'd think you two would get used to strange things by now," she said.

"Hey," Beckendorf replied. "I just think it's ironic how we wander around in an empty field for hours, and then 5 Pegasi just randomly appear."

"Yeah, the fates are cruel," I said as the winged horses landed in the field next to us. Blackjack was at the front of the herd. I petted his nose in greeting.

_Hey boss, _he said to me. _It took us a while to find ya, but we sensed you were in trouble, so the boys and I came running. _

"You mean flying," I corrected, glad to have some kind of relief from the aimless wandering. I started to lift Annabeth onto his back.

_Same thing, boss, _He said as he helped me get Annabeth situated. Silena, Beckendorf, and Will all got on a Pegasus. Blackjack looked at me with his big, intelligent eyes.

_You gonna ride me too, boss? _He asked. _Or am I just carrying the girl?_

"Relax, I'm gonna fly with you guys," I said. "Your friend can just keep watch and make sure no one tries to kill us, okay?

Blackjack whinnied. _That's a big job, boss. Denny's gonna like that._

"Glad to hear it," I told him as I jumped on his back behind Annabeth. I rested my chin on her shoulder and sat my hand on her left knee.

"I'm gonna be okay," she said, looking at me out of the corners of her eye. "You don't need to worry."

"I know," I replied as Blackjack took off. The other horses followed him into the air. "But I want to."

"Aww, Seaweed Brain," Annabeth cooed sarcastically. "You're so sweet."

"I try my best," I replied dryly. Annabeth looked away.

"Sorry," she said quietly. "...Thanks for caring," she added.

"Hey," I said softly. "It really doesn't bother me. It's a natural instinct by now. We've been through too much together for me not to care."

"Isn't that the truth," she said, grinning.

We flew for who knows how long, and by the time we returned to camp, Silena, Will, and Beckendorf were asleep, even in the extreme heat and bright sunlight.

But Annabeth and I had stayed awake, reliving old quests and memories.

And let me tell you, she didn't say a thing about her bleeding leg the whole ride. I think she forgot about it.

Or at least tried to.

* * *

Hmm. That one kinda sucked. My apologies. I really have no excuse, but if you'd like to hear one: I'm tired as Hades.

The next one will be better, I promise.

Like it? Mind telling me If you do?


	3. Kansas and the hellhound, I

Sorry guys, gotta give my extremely late update. It's also on my profile. Just making sure everyone sees it :D

_**MAY 29, 2010 EDIT: **_Wow. I would wait like 123,456,789 months before I updated again. Nice one. SO ANYWAYS... Summer's here. I'm out of school and everything! Hey... you all know how I did NaNoWriMo, right? Well, I've decided to put up the final product on FictionPress. If you could R&R, that would really mean a lot to me :) PJATO FRONT: Meh. Working on a new chapter of TSBtW. If you guys want me to make a sequel for SaB, let me know. Shoot me a message or something :) What did you guys think of the movie if you saw it? Wouldn't it be cool to be in one of the movies? A PJaTO fan living out their dreams as a demigod!... Well, maybe that's just me. TT FRONT: Thinking of making a new chapter for LILARC. I'll never know if I'm still good at it unless I try.  
Alright, well, that's all! Bye, guys! :D

* * *

A/N

I swear to you, I didn't intend for this to be a cheesy spin-off of this movie/musical. But that's what it ended up being. You have to understand, it wasn't originally going to be Kansas. It wasn't going to be a hellhound. I didn't know the details, I just had the idea.

It's nice to see what my imagination can come up with, isn't it?

Enjoy :]

* * *

I guess you could say I could drive. Paul had been taught me in his blue Prius for a few months; back when school was in session. But I hadn't made it to sixteen, so I hadn't gotten a license yet.

It was night, probably around eleven. In Topeka, Kansas, no one really knew how old you were if it were night.

Kansas is the farthest thing from New York, atmosphere-wise. It's empty. It's full of cornfields and trees. It's creepy.

I was driving a "borrowed" car along a freeway. It was my last intention to steal, believe me. But we needed a fast ride, and it was just sitting in a car lot. It was beat-up, and it didn't look like anyone wanted the poor black Chevrolet. So we borrowed it.

I say "we" meaning me and Annabeth. We'd been sent on a quest that took us on an unexpected trip, like when you put some coordinates into your GPS and it takes you on the most complicated route possible. We'd started in New York, and after 3 days of sleeping in shifts and switching cars, we'd made it to Kansas. We were heading for Utah. Why? I didn't have a clue. All I knew was that Kronos' monster-slaves had made it nearly impossible to use any non-mortal mode of transportation. So we were reduced to driving to Utah for some secret mission that Chiron didn't tell us the details of.

Like I said, it was eleven at night. So, of course, it was dark, which made the mini-forests on either side of the road even creepier. Behind us were a 24-hour gas station and a self-storage place. In front of us were the road and a white picket fence surrounding a cornfield.

"It's getting late," Annabeth said from the passenger seat. She looked over at me.

"No way," I said, glancing at her out of the corner of my eye. "You've said that every night since the second we got on the road. I've got a couple more hours left in me. I'm not going to let you drive."

Annabeth narrowed her eyes at me.

"You're so stubborn," she said. "Nothing is going to happen. I can drive just as well as you can. Hades, I can drive _better_ than you can. I'm older!"

I didn't say anything. Annabeth shrugged and looked out the window, resting her head on her hand. After a moment, she stiffened and sat up.

"Percy, pull over," she commanded. Her face was frozen and she was staring at something in the forest. I pulled over, but didn't put the car in park. Annabeth opened her door and got out. She stood still for a second, and the wind rustled her golden hair.

She was staring into the trees, trying to find something. I don't know what she saw, but whatever it was, it couldn't be good.

"What is it?" I asked, my voice lowering to a whisper. Annabeth shushed me and peered closer into the trees. She took a step towards them.

"Do you hear that?" she asked.

I raised an eyebrow at her, but she didn't turn around.

"...Hear what?" I asked suspiciously.

"Shh," she said. "Listen."

I listened. All I heard was the wind and the cars on the nearby highway. I opened my mouth to tell Annabeth she was crazy, but froze when I saw something moving in the shadows. I peered into the forest and glowing red eyes, silvery teeth, and a black body that blended into the night.

"Annabeth, get in the car," I said quietly. Annabeth inched closer to the trees.

"Are you sure you don't hear it?" she asked, her voice sad. "It's whimpering. It needs a home."

"Annabeth, I think you need to get in the car."

It was a hellhound, that much I was sure of. I didn't know what it was doing in Kansas or why Annabeth was being so sad about it. There was a certain longing in her voice- like she understood whatever the hound was going through. I mean, I knew that Annabeth used to have a Doberman and that it bothered her that they couldn't keep it, but I didn't know why that would make her so sad _now_.

I unbuckled my seatbelt and leaned over the passenger seat to grab Annabeth's arm and pull her back into the car. She moved out of my grasp a millisecond before I reached her and took off into the woods.

"Anna_beth_!" I shouted in frustration, killing the engine and taking the keys out of the ignition. I got out of the car and slammed my door. I looked around for the hellhound, but there was no sign of it. I groaned and followed my friend into the forest.

**... ... ... ... ...**

I pushed branches out of my way and thrust myself through bunches of leaves. I was running. It had been at least ten minutes, and I still couldn't find Annabeth or the hound.

I was just starting to get worried when I stumbled into a clearing. The night was already dark enough, but the trees cast even darker shadows over the small field of grass. At the far end of the clearing, I saw Annabeth. She was petting the hellhound's nose, but she didn't notice the red glow in its eyes. I stepped closer and heard the hellhound growl. Annabeth comforted it.

I started walking toward them, slowly. Annabeth looked up at the hound and it offered its back, like it wanted to take her somewhere. I froze, waiting for Annabeth to decide. Annabeth looked around, then climbed up on the hellhound's back and clutched its fur.

I sprinted towards them. The dog lunged to start running, and I grabbed on to the back of its leg.

It started running through the night. It felt like we were in a wind tunnel. My surroundings were pitch black, no moon or trees or anything. The hound was running so fast, it was like my face was going to peel off.

It was awesome.

When we finally stopped, the hellhound let Annabeth off its back and I let go of its leg. Annabeth yawned and stumbled, and I caught her. She jumped.

"Percy!" She said, her eyes wide. "Where did you come from?"

I opened my mouth to reply, but stopped when I noticed our surroundings.

"Annabeth... I don't think we're in Kansas anymore."

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "Don't be ridiculous, Percy," she said. "We just..." She stopped and looked around. The sun was out. We were in a forest that was similar to the one we'd just been in, except the trees were extremely tall and skinny and it wasn't next to the road. The blue sky shone above our heads and everything seemed to sparkle.

"What the-?" she said. "Where _are_ we?"

"Nice going ,Wise girl," I said, sitting down in the grass. "This is all your fault. You just had to-"

"MY FAULT!" Annabeth shouted. "If you hadn't let me run off into a dark forest at night, _Seaweed Brain_,we'd still be on our way to _Utah_!"

"I tried to stop you!" I shouted back. I gestured to the dog, who was lying on its stomach and watching us with an amused look on its face. "You were obsessed with this stupid hellhound and it was making you _so _upset! If you hadn't _followed _it into the forest, we'd still be on our way to Utah. Don't try to pin this one on me!"

Annabeth took a deep breath and massaged her temples.

"Fighting is getting us nowhere," she said. "Let's just calmly try to figure out where we are.

"Sounds like a plan to me," I replied. Annabeth offered me her hand and I took it. I stood up and we started to look around.

After a while of searching pointlessly around the trees and under rocks, Annabeth wanted to send an Iris-message to Chiron. I reminded her that we'd left our drachmas in the car, along with all our nectar, ambrosia, and first-aid supplies. Annabeth sighed and sat down on the grass. I followed suit. Annabeth look at the hellhound that' brought us here.

The dog hadn't moved yet, but instead was staring at us like it was trying to tell us something. It noticed we were looking at it, pushed itself off the ground and started walking into the trees.

Annabeth and I glanced at each other. Annabeth raised an eyebrow. I shrugged. We decided to follow it.

* * *

Yeah... this one will probably be 3 chapters :)

Like it? Mind telling me if you did?


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